


It seems like gravity keeps pulling us back down

by strangenessandcharm



Category: Infinite (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Jealousy, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sungyeol mopes a lot this first chapter but i promise he gets better, assumptions make an ass out of u and me, idol verse but with magic basically, someone stop the dad jokes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-08
Updated: 2016-12-08
Packaged: 2018-09-01 01:50:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,124
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8602495
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strangenessandcharm/pseuds/strangenessandcharm
Summary: In a world where everyone has their own little bit of magic, Sungyeol is the only member of Infinite who hasn't worked out what his quirk is. Which if fine, totally fine, because some people don't figure out till they're middle aged, some people don't figure it out till their death bed, and some people never figure it out. Except Sungyeol is not fine.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've been going on about this AU since September on tumblr and finally I've written enough of it to publish something. I've not got a publish schedule set out for this like Leverage because I'm hoping it won't be particularly long. Think of this like an introduction/testing the waters kind of thing.
> 
> Also the style here is super experimental/different to what I'm usually going for so, I'm not sure if it works.
> 
> Anyway I should say I tried to keep this as close to reality as possible but as someone who has been in fandom less than a year I'm sure I got things wrong - it's an au where they have magic powers though so I think I can get away with a bit of creative license :3.

_This side of me, I want a little more_  
_But inside it seems, I'm just a little boy_  
_Nothing else!_

 

 

 

 

≫

 

It’s a variety show like any other. MCs trying to be funny with cutting words and cruel taunts. Guests trying to respond without being caught in a scandal. Buttons pushed and inevitably harsh netizen words are par for the course.

It’s a variety show like any other. Sungyeol is asked about his lack of a quirk. 

 

 

≪

 

_Sungyeol knows he has a good life._

_Most people don’t discover their quirks until their early twenties, as Sungyeol’s mother has been telling him his whole life. It’s not unusual for people to be middle aged before discovering them, and in rarer but not uncommon cases people never discover what their quirk is - die having never had the chance to know, of writing off their quirk as talent or skill._

_No one actually lacks a quirk, but those who have never discovered their quirks are branded as quirk-less. It’s not a big deal for most people since it’s not customary to share your quirk with everyone you meet. It is a big deal for those in the public eye_

_When they first debut, Sungyeol doesn’t bother worrying about it, neither Myungsoo or Sungjong had discovered their quirks and Dongwoo had only discovered his during debut preparations. Except less than a year after debut, Sungjong had discovered he could change his hair colour at will - a very useful quirk for an idol and the health of their hair. Myungsoo had followed soon after._

_Sungyeol never had._

_And now. Now they’ve been Infinite for three years. Now Sungyeol is in his mid-twenties. Now Sungyeol is something of a rarity - an openly quirk-less idol._

_Sungyeol has always wanted to stand out as an idol, stand out from his group as something other than the tall one._

_Not like this._

 

 

≫

 

“You shouldn’t let it get to you,” Sunggyu tells him after the taping is finished, as they’re heading out to the van to go to their next schedule, a music show. Sunggyu’s words probably are meant to be encouraging but Sungyeol can tell what they really are. A reprimand.

“We keep telling you,” Manager says, with that disapproving tone that’s reserved for Sungyeol’s quirk situation or Myungsoo spilling food in the van, “That we can fake your quirk. It’s not uncommon for quirk-less idols.”

It’s the norm, it’s why Sungyeol not hiding his lack of quirk is so interesting to every MC under the sun. 

Sungyeol’s something of a traditionalist, wants to wait for his real quirk. If it ever comes. 

“No,” Sungyeol says, brushing off their single-minded focus on Infinite masquerading as concernas he climbs into the van, sitting himself down next to Hoya in the back so that he doesn’t have to listen to more lectures.

Hoya barely glances up from his phone as Sungyeol settles next to him. Sungyeol didn’t expect much else, they’ve always been awkward.

Instead he lets himself mope, headphones in himself, just for the length of the car ride. Then he’s pulling himself together and shaking it off like he always does.

Maybe if he wasn’t an idol, and an idol already considered useless dead weight in his group, it wouldn’t bother him so much. Maybe it would. Sungyeol is in the group, so he can’t dwell on what if’s.

 

 

≪

 

_(Sungyeol remembers being young, no older than six or seven, and the pure joy on his grandmother’s face when she’d realised that anger-empathy had been her quirk all along, only three days before her death._

_Sungyeol doesn’t want to be his grandmother)._

 

 

≫

 

“You need to stop defining yourself by your quirk,” Hoya tells him quietly, as they tumble out of the van. Drops his unasked for words of wisdom on Sungyeol before walking off to find Dongwoo.

That’s easy for Hoya to say. Golden child Lee Howon. 

Sungyeol tries so hard not to be jealous of Hoya. Because even if dancing is his quirk, if he was lucky enough to be one of the few people blessed with a quirk of actual value to their career, Sungyeol knows he works hard. Sees how hard he works at his dancing, his rapping, his singing. Everything.

It’s hard though because dancing is his quirk. 

Hoya’s quirk is his dancing and he’s so fucking good at it. Hoya’s never asked what’s wrong with him, why he’s quirk-less. He’s just asked to dance on variety, dance and not talk and maybe having your personality considered a liability would suck. Maybe Hoya suffers as much as Sungyeol.

But he can’t suffer as much as Sungyeol because at the end of the day he has recognition and praise and a useful quirk and Sungyeol can’t help but let envy fester.

Sungyeol never claimed to be a good person.

 

 

_≪_

 

_“You know,” Myungsoo tells him one day when he can tell Sungyeol is dwelling on his undiscovered quirk, “You could always think of it as an opportunity,”_

_“What are you talking about?” Sungyeol leans his head back so he can see Myungsoo on the couch from his position sprawled on the floor._

_“You quirk. It could be literally anything, it could be something super cool.” Myungsoo tells him earnestly, “Like, maybe you can fly, or set things on fire with your eyes, or be able to predict the future.”_

_“Yeah, maybe I’m so important I’ll be the first person in the modern world to have those quirks,” Sungyeol retorts sarcastically. Not that there haven’t been people who believed they had powers like that, Sungyeol remembers being eleven years old and his classmate jumping out a tree because she was convinced her quirk was the ability to grow wings._

_“Whatever it is,” Myungsoo continues ignoring Sungyeol completely (it’s something he’s gotten very good at recently), “I’m sure it’ll be more exciting than keeping drinks warm.”_

_“I like your quirk, it’s useful,” Sungyeol tells him, which isn’t really a lie. Especially considering they spend so long rushing between places that drinks can get put down and forgotten for hours (Myungsoo is very popular with idols and staff alike during winter)._

_“But boring,” Myungsoo pouts. Sungyeol could tell him that pretty much every quirk is mundane or ‘boring’ but Myungsoo knows that, he just likes the pout. He has a fascination with quirks, has as long as Sungyeol has known him. Back when they were the only two without quirks they used to pass the time in waiting rooms and trips between schedules speculating on what their quirks were, on what the most inconvenient quirks were, what the most useful ones could be._

_“You have been reading too much manga,” Sungyeol tells Myungsoo, because he really has. By very definition a quirk is almost always something boring but mildly useful._

_“I’m just saying,” Myungsoo says._

_“Yes well say things less dumb please,” Sungyeol tells him matter-of-factly._

_Myungsoo rolls off the couch and onto Sungyeol who lets out a loud huff as the breath is quite literally knocked out of him, “You’re fucking heavy.” He complains. Myungsoo just digs his chin into Sungyeol’s shoulder in response. Dickhead._

 

 

≫

 

“I’m going to the shop,” Hoya says the next day, sticking his head into the living room where Sungjong and Sungyeol are sitting, “Do you need anything?”

Sungjong and Sungyeol both wave him away and watch as he puts his shoes on.

Sungyeol’s not entirely sure why he says it, why he calls out to Hoya “Remember to take an umbrella.” Maybe he feels slightly guilty for his thoughts yesterday, maybe a more pragmatic part of him just doesn’t want their lead dancer to catch a cold.

“It’s not meant to rain is it?” Hoya asks him, frowning in confusion.

“I’m pretty sure it is,” Sungyeol says, returning his attention to his phone. Myungsoo is currently out on some solo promotion (Sungyeol doesn’t care enough to remember what it is) and is continually sending Sungyeol happy snaps, “You’ve probably not checked the forecast in the last few days.”

Hoya continues to frown at him as if Sungyeol’s said something particularly confusing or offensive.

That’s what Sungyeol gets for trying to be nice to Hoya, “Or don’t, see if I care when you get soaked and are complaining your ass off when you get home.”

Hoya ends up taking the umbrella and once he’s gone Sungjong gives Sungyeol a calculating look.Sungyeol’s not sure what that means

“I don’t want to hear it,” Sungyeol says, because he doesn’t know what Sungjong is going to say but he knows it’s not going to be a compliment.

“Okay,” Sungjong says simply before looking back to the replay of some awful variety show he’s watching on the television.

 

 

≪

 

_The first time Sungjong discovers his quirk it’s an unholy hour of the morning, a couple of months after they first debut._

_Honestly, it’s one of Sungyeol’s favourite memories with Infinite - forget the first win or the world tour, nothing will top the look on Sungjong’s face the day he had woken the whole house with his screaming._

_Everyone had stumbled out of their rooms (except Dongwoo because Dongwoo can sleep through anything - even a fire alarm as they had disturbingly discovered eventually) to find Sungjong standing  in the middle of the room with bright blue hair._

_Sunggyu had looked horrified, Myungsoo had blinked and rubbed at his eyes as if he was dreaming, Woohyun had turned round and gone back to bed. Hoya and Sungyeol had laughed so hard that they’d collapsed against each other._

_“You,” Sungjong said, turning to the two of them with a thunderous expression that probably would have been scarier had his hair not been such a vibrant shade Sungyeol hadn’t known was humanly possible, “This was you two.”_

_“It wasn’t,” Sungyeol denied shaking his head. He’d wished he’d thought of it, but he wouldn’t have dared the stylist’s wrath, he’d learned that lesson early on (plus when has he ever teamed up with Hoya for anything)._

_“I would never,” Hoya had claimed in mock innocence, clutching at his chest as if offended, “I can’t believe you’d think as much of me.” They all know he probably would, just not to Sungjong_

_Sunggyu glares at them, “Are you sure?”_

_“To get that kind of colour you’d have to bleach his hair a couple of times,” Woohyun said, emerging from his room again, “No way Sungjong would sleep through that.”_

_“Well I sure as heck didn’t do it,” Sungjong had said with an angry pout, stamping his foot._

_Then in front of all of their eyes his hair had turned a vivid, angry red colour. Sunggyu had fallen over in shock._

_“Okay,” Hoya had said, staring at Sungjong wide eyed, “I think we found Sungjong’s quirk.”_

_It had taken Sungjong almost a week to learn how to control it, which had given the stylist’s nightmares (they were probably lucky it had happened after promotions), but then he’d become their favourites._

_As quirk discovery stories go it’s a good one. Good for variety shows (Though no one ever mentions exactly how horrified Sungjong’s scream had been) and much less dangerous than Myungsoo’s._

 

 

≫

 

They’re sitting in a waiting room, always waiting for the next variety show where they answer the same things from the same people, pretending they’re breaking new ground. Lather rinse repeat (Sungyeol doesn’t know when he got so cynical - can’t remember anymore if he’s always been this way or if it’s a result of this industry chewing them up and spitting them out).

Sunggyu is off going over something with their manager, Woohyun butting in every now and then. Dongwoo and Hoya are practicing their dancing as best they can in the corner of the room and Sungjong has disappeared god knows where.

Sungyeol and Myungsoo are sitting on the couch in the corner very clearly not doing anything productive, Sunggyu is mostly to distracted to notice so they’re making the most of it. 

“I can see it already, they’ll get Hoya to ask before turning their attention to me,” Sungyeol tells Myungsoo with a roll of his eyes before raising his voice in a (very bad) approximation of the female hosts voice, “Sungyeol how does it feel to be quirk-less when you have bandmates with such interesting quirks? Is there a reason you’ve told the world you don’t have a quirk? Are you trying to be a role model for all those quirk-less kids out there, by the way also what’s it like to be quirk-less? Do you still eat like the rest of us? Drink like the rest of us? Do you shit the same as us?” 

He’s basically ranting by the end of it, spurred on by the way Myungsoo is curled over himself wheezing with laughter. 

“Tell us how you really feel,” Hoya says dryly, the purse of his lips present that means he’s not exactly amused.

Sungyeol doesn’t know what his problem could possibly be, so he ignores him.

 

 

≪

 

_Dongwoo doesn’t have a ‘quirk discovering’ story the same way Sungjong or Myungsoo do._

_Rather as they were beginning to get ready for debut they started to realise that Dongwoo remembered the names of everyone he’d ever met, even for a fraction of a second._

_Dongwoo had denied it the first time Sunggyu had suggested it, laughed it off with a “I just have a good memory.”_

_But then the others had started testing him._

_“What was the name of your first teacher?” Woohyun asks him in the practice room at 1am, they’ve been practicing for twelve hours._

_Dongwoo answers without missing a beat._

_Sungjong sits on the end of Dongwoo’s bed, waiting for him to wake up in the morning. As soon as Dongwoo has opened his eyes he asks, “What was the name ofyour childhood babysitter.”_

_Dongwoo is still half asleep. He answers without batting an eyelid._

_(Sungyeol himself is not convinced - they have no way of verifying these names although Dongwoo really doesn’t seem the type to lie or make this kind of thing up)_

_Eventually what convinces Sungyeol, convinces Dongwoo, is when Dongwoo is able to name every single person that attended the same trainee audition as him (verified by the CEO’s records)._

_When he’s finished Dongwoo turns to them with wide eyes, “I think I found my quirk,” he says, like everyone else hadn’t been telling him that for weeks._

_Hoya snorts sarcastically, “you don’t say.”_

_“Well,” Woohyun says with a dry blink, although he’s not doing as good of a job hiding the envy in his voice as he probably wants to “I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised everyone else in this group is going to end up with a useful power for an idol.”_

 

 

≫

 

Sungyeol and Hoya have always been awkward with each other.

Sungyeol knows that’s probably his fault, though the fact Hoya is the most socially awkward person that Sungyeol has ever seen in this business doesn’t help.

It’s not that they don’t get on, it’s just that Sungyeol has never made an effort to befriend Hoya or even understand him (Maybe, maybe it could be argued that in the early days he avoided Hoya but no one has ever voiced that thought to him so Sungyeol’s not going to be the first one to do it). 

Hoya for his part can take a hint, and his own brand of shyness wrapped in a brash, masculine persona, has meant he’s never made an effort to befriend Sungyeol either.

Which means the two of them are in this weird position where, like the rest of his bandmates, Sungyeol knows more about Hoya than he would ever want to know about anyone, but he doesn’t really know him.

It’s too late to do anything to fix it now , Sungyeol wouldn’t know how (if he’s honest with himself he doesn’t know that he wants to).

It’s why Sungyeol never knows when he’s going to go to far. He crosses the line for everyone sometimes - he’s unable to stop himself - but he knows it’s Hoya he crosses it with more than anyone (except maybe Sunggyu but honestly Sunggyu’s just grumpy for show half the time).

It’s why Sungyeol walks away from that waiting room weighed down with thefeeling he’s sad something unnecessarily cruel but no idea what or why.

Keeping his distance from Hoya has never been so exhausting. 

 

 

≪

 

_(On his very pettiest days Sungyeol lets himself think that, at least his quirk has the possibility of being useful or interesting. At least he’s not stuck with something as inane and useless as Woohyun._

_His pettiest days grow more frequent. )_

 

 

≫

 

Sunggyu pulls him aside right before they’re about to go out for the show.

“Could you maybe, for five seconds pretend you don’t resent Hoya?” Sunggyu asks him with a sigh, “For band unity.”

“I don’t resent Hoya,” Sungyeol says. It may sound like a lie but it’s not. He’s envious of Hoya, more envious than is healthy, but he doesn’t resent him. There’s a distinction (there has to be). 

Sunggyu shoots him one of the most judgemental looks Sungyeol has ever received, “You’re supposed to want to be an actor, how about you act.”

Sunggyu walks away after that, apparently done with his scolding. Sungyeol sighs, looking up surprised to find Hoya staring at him. Sungyeol cannot identify the look in his eyes, on his face, but something about it makes him profoundly uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable but intrigued and he can’t look away until Hoya does.

He goes onto the show feeling like there’s something crawling under his skin, through his veins into his organs. Into his heart.

 

 

≪

 

_In contrast to the discovery of Sungjong’s quirk, Myungsoo’s is, interesting and very nearly disastrous._

_They’re on set, filming BTD. Sungyeol remembers how cold it is, the number of jackets that everyone has slung all over their shoulder._

_Myungsoo and Woohyun have it worse, with their ridiculous fight scenes, which is why no one is surprised that Myungsoo is practically dead on his feet._

_He’s been sitting on some chair slightly out of the way, swaying slightly with a paper coffee cup clutched tightly in his hands, for an eternity. It looks like he had a grip on the cup to warm his hands, and in the entire time Sungyeol and Dongwoo have made a game of watching him he hasn’t drunk from it once. By now Sungyeol is sure it must be as cold as the frigid air._

_Eventually Sungyeol gets bored of trying to guess when Myungsoo is going to wake up, turning his attention to where Sungjong and Hoya are doing god knows what in the corner. Sungyeol would guess it’s some kind of game but it could be a dance at this point._

_“How long has he been like that?” Woohyun’s interruption drags Sungyeol away from his staring._

_“Uhh,” Sungyeol says, checking his watch, “ Eighty minutes give or take,”_

_“Should someone maybe go and make sure he’s still breathing?” Woohyun suggests playfully._

_Before anyone gets the chance Sungjong and Hoya manage to bang into Myungsoo doing whatever it is they’re doing (Sungyeol never does get an answer to that question)._

_Myungsoo’s drink goes flying, spilling all over the floor and down Hoya’s legs, whilst himself and Sungjong manage to avoid most of the liquid._

_Everyone watches with baited breathe to see how Hoya’s going to react. He surprises them all when he starts swearing, not at Myungsoo but violently interspersed with pained whimpers._

_Sungyeol’s not the only one that thinks at the time that it’s one of Hoya’s awful attempts at a joke. Woohyun rolls his eyes, Dongwoo laughs and Sunggyu comes over to snap at them they need to stop playing around._

_Except Hoya doesn’t stop. Sungjong frowns, reaching down for the last dregs of liquid in the cup. Then, “it’s still hot!”_

_There’s a flurry of motion after that, Myungsoo wailing that he didn’t know, it should be cold, whilst one of the stylists whisks Hoya off somewhere and Dongwoo tries to comfort a distraught Myungsoo._

_Even once Hoya returns it doesn’t calm, the manager and the director trying to decide if Hoya needs to get medical attention or if the cold water is enough, everyone buzzing around him in concern and Myungsoo latched onto Hoya’s waist tearfully apologising and refusing to let go (It takes over a week for Myungsoo to stop apologising even longer for him to stop reaching for Hoya every time he sees him - much to Hoya’s awkward discomfort)._

_It takes a while for anyone to realise that liquid staying hot for over 90 minutes is not normal, and they’ve probably found Myungsoo’s quirk._

_Understandably there are different priorities at the time._

 

 

≫

 

“Sungyeol how does it feel to be quirk-less when you have bandmates with such interesting quirks?” The female MC asks Sungyeol turning her attention to him. Sungyeol doesn’t even have to pretend not to be offended this time because he’s too busy trying to avoid Myungsoo’s eye so he doesn’t burst into laughter.

 

  

_≪_

 

_Hoya for all that he’s one of the most laid back people Sungyeol has met is prone to fits of temper._

_Or maybe temper is the wrong word because he’s never angry, only harsh, throwing words that he knows will hit people at their weakest pointlike they’re nothing. Sungyeol knows something about that, but whereas Sungyeol resorts to barbs wrapped in humour, backhanded compliments and sly digs, Hoya is more explosive. He’s blunt words and biting remarks, cutting to the bone in a way exposes the worst of your insecurities, right down to your fragile organs._

_Sungyeol has never managed to figure out if he does it on purpose or without thinking. Doesn’t know which is worse._

_There is only one incident though that Sungyeol can recall of Hoya lashing out at him - maybe it’s because they don’t really have anything to do with each other, maybe it’s because anything else would pale in comparison. He doesn’t know. He doesn’t like to think about it (Yet he does, more often than he’d like, even years later, even after Howon has given him the rarest of apologies)._

_Sungyeol hadn’t even been making snide comments, for once. He’d been sitting with Myungsoo (and it’s always Myungsoo that witnesses these things) self-deprecatingly joking about his lack of lines, as always._

_“Shut the fuck up Sungyeol,” Hoya had snarled, surprising everyone in the room, “Stop feeling sorry for yourself.”_

_Sungyeol had just blinked at him, stunned by the vitriol and how unexpected the lash out was, “If you spent half as much time actually trying instead of complaining about your lack of quirk or lack of lines or how unfair your life was maybe you wouldn’t be as the deadweight you think you are.”_

_Sungyeol gapes at him._

_“I think you just like complaining, like playing the victim so you can do the least and get sympathy.” Hoya says. Even as he’s saying the words Sungyeol can see a hint of regret in his eyes. That doesn’t make it better._

_That doesn’t make the words hurt any less as Hoya storms from the room and everyone stares at him._

_Never in his life has Sungyeol wanted more to be invisible._

_(It occurs to him in that moment, maybe that is his quirk. Though it’s rare there are people out there with quirks that are more of a hindrance than a help._

_Maybe Sungyeol is one of those unfortunate people, maybe his quirk is that he’ll always just miss the mark)_  

 

 

≫

 

Sungyeol is surprised (surprised doesn’t begin to cover it) when Hoya corners him in the practice room after a few days (It’s not really cornering him, they’re simply the last two left, but Sungyeol is feeling attacked so he’s projecting an attack).

“What?” Sungyeol asks sharper than he intended.

He hasn’t really been alone with Hoya in the practice room since practice for that ever so awkward Sexyback performance (Sungyeol doesn’t let him think about how much he enjoyed that - about the fact if he put his ego aside he could grow to really truly like Hoya).

One undeniable fact about this group, this company, probably any practice room in the country, is that it’s always overflowing with life. Music and noise and the un-glamorous squeak of shoes on the floor, arguing boys and angry choreographers.

Right now it’s silent and still, the first time Sungyeol has experienced it, as he waits to see what Hoya wants.

“You need to stop defining yourself by your quirk,” Hoya says, echoing the words he’d said to Sungyeol the other week. But then, “Because you don’t define other people by theirs.”

Hoya doesn’t say “Anyone except for me’ but he doesn’t need to. They can both hear it, ringing unsaid in the uncharacteristic silence.

“I’m not the only one that defines myself by it,” Sungyeol says. It’s meant to come out indignant but it sounds more, self-pitying than he’d liked.

“You quirk could be shooting fire out your ass and people would still talk shit,” Hoya says as Sungyeol tries not to bark a laugh at the mental image that produces.

 

 

_≪_

 

_Everyone knows that Hoya’s quirk is dancing - any trainee in the system, any manager or CEO or show PD. They might not know his name, or his face, but they know that one Woollim Trainee (later idol) with the rare quirk._

_Sungyeol knew it before he’d even moved to Woollim; before he’d met Hoya._

_Maybe he passed judgement before meeting Hoya.No one could prove he had though, and anyway it doesn’t matter._

_Hoya has a useful quirk, Sungyeol has none and if that isn’t a metaphor, a symbol of their places in Infinite, then Sungyeol doesn’t know what else it could be._

 

 

≫

 

When he thinks about it later, Sungyeol won’t be able to remember exactly what it was he said that set Hoya off. Probably some snarky comment about Hoya’s quirk or (practically non-existent) arrogance or something. The usual.

What was not usual was the way Hoya had reacted a sort of squaring of his shoulders and a flashing of his eyes, “Could you get your head out of your ass for five seconds and just stop?” He asks Sungyeol. His words are aggressive but his tone is not, more resigned than anything. 

Myungsoo, who Sungyeol had been sitting watching the tv with looks between them twice before scampering away, nothing subtle about it.

“What’s your problem?” Sungyeol asks Hoya more nonchalantly than he actually feels. Something feels like he’s crossed a line.

“Let me ask you a question,” Hoya says, the most serious that Sungyeol has seen him outside of the way he approaches learning new things, “What do you think my quirk is.”

“Dancing.” Sungyeol answers straight away. Hoya’s quirk was the first one he learned on coming into Woollim and the envy has been burning ever since.

“Think about that, for just a second.” Hoya says eyebrow cocked with that hideously smug look on his face that always makes Sungyeol want to wipe it off, “Have you ever heard of anyone having a quirk that is a skill?”

“Eunji can identify any note she hears straight away,” Sungyeol says frowning in thought, “Taemin memorises choreography as soon as he sees it-”

Sungyeol is going to continue, could continue for days but Hoya cuts him off, “Okay, they have quirks that help their skills but is their quirk a skill.” Hoya says impatiently.

“No?” Sungyeol says slowly before gaping at Hoya, “Are you saying you have a one of a kind skill?”

“You’re so fucking stupid Sungyeol,” Hoya sighs throwing a pillow at his head. Sungyeol manages to duck out of the way of it, but twists his neck at an odd angle that probably hurts more than being hit in the face with a pillow would. 

“Hey,” Sungyeol shoots back because he doesn’t appreciate the needless assault or name calling, “coming from you?”

“Dancing isn’t my quirk,” Hoya says looking like he doesn’t know whether to hit Sungyeol or himself.

“What?” Sungyeol asks, pretty sure his mouth has dropped open in the way that makes him look extremely dumb.

“Dancing isn’t my quirk,” Hoya repeats slowly, as if Sungyeol not hearing him was the problem here.

“Why did you say it was?” Sungyeol all but demands. Hoya’s quirk was one of the first things he found out coming to Woollim, and as irrational as it is, if that’s not true, not the undisputed fact he’d always thought it was he feels like it’ll shake everything else he’s learned over the past few years.

“I never did,” Hoya shrugs looking down at his hands, all teasing confidence gone and replaced with a sort of … ashamed bashfulness, 

“I..” Sungyeol gapes, casting his mind back over every interaction he’s had with Hoya as long as he’s known him. And with a start he realises that he’s never once heard Hoya refer to his quirk, “You never corrected us.”

“I gave up trying,” Hoya says with an awkward shrug, still refusing to look Sungyeol in the eye, “everyone’s first question is ‘what’s your real quirk then’ and I can’t answer that so,” Hoya shrugs again, “It’s easier this way.”

“Oh,” Sungyeol says, because he’s not sure what else to say. Doesn’t want to accidentally say something to offend Hoya even more (he’s good at that - maybe that’s his quirk the ability to offend people anytime he opens his mouth).

“Yeah,” Hoya says, the sense of awkwardness now leaking out of Hoya and into the room at large.

Sungyeol opens and closes his mouth, thinking of something to say, but before he gets a chance to say anything Hoya abruptly gets to his feet, “I’ve got to meet Dongwoo at the studio, I’ll see you later.” He says, making what is potentially the least subtle and most awkward exit that Sungyeol has ever seen (including Myungsoo’s attempt five minutes ago).

He’s not sure how he feels about it, on one hand he probably should have acknowledged this big secret that Hoya has just revealed to him in some sort of way so that he didn’t come across as a huge asshole. On the other hand time to process how he feels and what to say to Hoya will probably prevent him from sticking his foot in his mouth.

He knows one thing for sure though, his entire perception of Hoya has been built on a lie, and so has his relationship with him.

Sungyeol has been letting envy fester and infect his relationship with his bandmate for years which was bad enough in itself but had felt justified at the time.

Now, now he knows he didn’t even have reason to be envious and he feels like a right piece of shit.

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I rushed this finish to get this published before the lovely Dena is off on her adventure so it's not nearly as good as I want it to be. I don't know why my brain was like "hey finish a hoyeol fic as a gift to a hosoo shipper" but here we are. Sorry I couldn't give you something less shit but more notice would be nice ;)
> 
> (Whispers: I promise Yeol gets less mopey after this but as I've said before my style of writing is essentially "mopey" so IDK what I expected xD)
> 
> As always you can come [visit me](http://infiniteleverage.tumblr.com/) on tumblr and tell me to stick to leverage au or w/e
> 
> [I'm just gonna go hide from the internet until it's time to publish the next chapter of Leverage au now]


End file.
